[Harry!]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

NEW DELHI: Foreign celebs like Brangelina and Madonna may have turned the spotlight on adoptions by expressing a desire to give Indian children a home but the actual number of adoptions in the country is showing a decline.

According to the latest figures, the number of domestic adoptions in 2007 (till September) was 608 compared to 2,409 in 2006 and 2,709 in 2002. Adoptions by foreign nationals are also down — 391 adoptions had taken place till September 2007, compared to 852 in 2006 and 1,066 in 2002.

It's not that there isn't enough demand, admits the Central Adoption Resource Agency (CARA), which is the central body responsible for monitoring adoptions in the country.

The problem, it claims, is that not enough children are put up for adoption.

Another issue that deters many couples from adopting children is the sheer length of time that the process takes. At present, it can take anything between three to six months. Thanks to this delay, a plethora of illegal agencies which sell children in the name of adoption also flourish.

"Parents feel that the process of formal adoption is too cumbersome and time-consuming," concedes CARA chairperson J K Mittal. He, however, points out that awareness programmes have been launched and rules have been simplified.

"We have amended the Juvenile Justice Act so that people do not have to wait for so long," he adds.

In a country where many newborns are abandoned by poverty-stricken parents, such low number of adoptions indicate a failure of the official machinery, say activists.

They argue that the cumbersome process disincentivises adoptions instead of incentivising them.

CARA says it is taking steps to plug the gap. It has asked state governments to involve panchayats and other local bodies to identify orphaned and destitute children so that they can be placed for adoption.